The name I like is top 3?

[Walkietalkie7]

The name we have chosen is the 3rd most popular name in our country for girls.

244 babies with this name were born in our country last year.

People with popular names, is it really so bad and should we choose something else? What about popularity now vs when I was growing up in the 90s? I read that the year I was born Emma was given to 3% of babies and Olivia which is no1 now was given to 1.4% last year.

Well if everyone did it, there’d be less of the top 10 names in school classes and more of the less common ones that tend to be used as middle names, so there could be a wider spread of names overall.

But to be honest, who actually cares? Just choose names that you like and you can think will see your child through life.

I unknowingly chose a very popular name for a DD, and a few years later chose a very obscure name for another. They both ended up with one other child bearing their names in their year in elementary school.

I have a popular name and it does suck tbh. I eventually got known as my surname so my friends had an easier identifier for me.

For this reason I chose my kids’ names carefully and so far no others in their year groups.

PPs may have a point that the problem isn’t as bad now as in the past as there are a wider variety of names. But again it’s just luck. I don’t know any Freyas, but I know loads of Ellies and Lilys.

21 years ago- My sister wanted an unusual name and it was.. Now her son’s name has been in the top 5 for the last 15 or so years.

It's popular because it is nice.
She will have a surname that will differentiate her; unless her surname is also very popular.

I agree with you.

We have 4 Theos and 3 Harrys in our Scouts group - two have the same surname. It’s a pain and leads to confusion.

Some parents forget that names are meant to identify us.

I have one of these names. Went all the way through school being called FirstnameSurname as if it was one thing. It has never really bothered me, though I do get phone calls and texts meant for the other people with my name! My parents knew noone with my name when they gave it to me and it was a name that was used in our family tree way back. Funny thing is all of those names from my generation ie Vicky, Claire, Sarah, Becky are now probably unusual for current babies.

The problem is that you can think you are choosing something less popular and then something happens to make that a really common name. We know a 17 year old Elsa. She was born years before Frozen and it was a very rare name when she was a baby but then....

Freya is perfectly nice and inoffensive but there are a lot if them and have been for quite some time. My teens know loads and we also know 2 babies who have been called Freya in the last year. So it won't date them in the same way that some names do. But they probably won't be the only one at most things.

My dc participated in a sporting event a few weeks ago. There were 8 Amelias taking part and 5 were competing in the same age group. I was wondering if those parents wished they'd chosen something else (but then Amelia was a very unusual name when I was a child).

@Walkietalkie7 my dds name is Isla…it’s so so popular. She was still the only one in her primary school and the only one in Ger secondary school believe it or not. I know of one Freya. If you like it then use it.

While any name can suddenly become popular, by choosing a name currently outside the top100 you are significantly reducing the chances of the name being shared by lots of others.

We chose names that were used about 20 times per year when our children were born. They’ve not met many others with their names (and they are well known easy to spell and pronounce names)

It's popular because it is nice. It's popular because it's currently used.

Names that have been popular in the past include names like Gladys, Phyllis, Doris, Doreen, Tracey, Christine, Sandra. Are they nice?

Exactly!

Names, like fashion, feel ‘nice’ only until they get so widely used that they inevitably fall out of fashion again.

Much better to choose an underused classic name - not only is the risk of sharing it with lots of others lower but it’s also less likely to date badly.

I do somewhat agree with this, but some of the names that are higher up in the top 100 lists are names that consistently stick around the same place - only fluctuate 10 spots or so. My DC's name falls within the top 30 and consistently stays there for years and years and years. Its a name I have always loved an didnt realise it was so high until I needed to look at baby names. So yes, sometimes they're fashionable, but sometimes the names are popular because they truly are classics that don't date. I agree this isn't the case for Freya though.

I work with a Darren, Ian and Craig. Were the name gorgeous when they were born?
(They are all good people and their names are fine for them but would be unusual today.)

Freya isn’t my personal taste as it doesn’t feel especially classic or timeless to me - I’ve never met one over 30. But I must admit it has a very pretty sound and I really would not worry about the popularity. It can be fairly random/unlucky to get 2 of the same name in a class these days imo. There are no repeats in DS class or the year above for example - just soundalikes/lookalikes (Leo and Theo, Eva and Ava, Elsie and Esme, Lily and Lilah, Alfie and Albie etc).

Compare that to my school days when there were 3 Sarah’s and 5 Katherine variations in my (all girls) class alone. I think the variety of names now has changed massively since we were kids. Trends are still really obvious but everyone seems to want “something different but not too unusual” now - which often means just a letter or two or one syllable different from a very similar popular name 🤣. So for example your Freya might well be the only one in class - but there could be a Maya or a Raya. But is that a really big deal if Freya is your favourite name?

A friend has a Freya in her 30s. It was unusual back then, so seemed different and new, but not too different.

Freya is a lovely name, and you shouldn’t be put off by its positioning.

My colleague has just had a baby and named her daughter that, but apart from that know one other.

Most popular name we’ve come across is Ivy. We know 5 who were all born within a 3 months time span.

I love the name Freya! Go with a name you like. There were two girls with the same very unusual name in ds1's class, so there is no guarantee if you go for an unusual one. My kids are only a few years apart, but even in that time, the most popular kid names had changed. Albie was unheard of in ds1's age group, but I knew a few by ds2.

I'm an Emma, had 3 in my class at primary and 9 in my year in secondary. Honestly it doesn't bother me in the slightest, I know it's a ridiculously popular name and I have joked before about my unimaginative parents but A. I like my name, it suits me and B. the popularity doesnt bother me for a second

@IHopeYouStepOnALegPiece , I love the name Emma. DD is one, and yes it was popular, but her surname was fairly unusual.
We chose it because we liked it and knew we'd always like it.

It's in the top 3 because it's a nice name and lots of people like it.

The reason there's not many Brunhildas is because most people don't like the sound it makes or how it looks written down (apologies to any Brunhilda who might be reading this). If a name is unpopular, it's usually for a reason.

Uniqueness of name doesn't correlate with success either. There's both a Taylor and an Olivia right at the top of the music world right now and they are both common names.

I wouldn't be concerned about them not being identifiable. I taught a class with 3 Lillys once and we managed to differentiate them!

You made an excellent choice 😁Maybe I'm biased but I think its just very classic, won't go out of style, all round nice name!

I've always loved it except for one brief spell when I was 12 and was adamant I was going to change it to Melody-Rocco...mum just went "ok dear" and Melody - Rocco lasted 4 days before I decided Emma was back in

Freya is a really pretty name and I like that it can’t be shortened. I think with popular names you are expecting to encounter a few people with the same name at some stage but you’d be very unlucky to have 4 in a class like years ago. I had the name Savannah (outside top 100) on my baby name list - didn’t use it but just yesterday met a baby 6 weeks old (same as my dd) with that very name who lives close to us so every chance they could be in the same class at school! My ds has a popular name, we have encountered a few out and about but honestly never been an issue and he totally owns his name!!

@KittyFinlay , 3 Lillys is quite a coincidence. 3 Lilys I could understand.

@amy480 Freya - Frey

I picked a very popular name for my daughter, despite only ever knowing one other person with that name, and she is the only one in her school with it. I did also like a much more ‘unusual’ name but would you believe it, there is another girl in her class with the same name!
So I don’t think it matters. Pick the name you like most, regardless of if it is popular.

I agree with this. And the nice unique names become popular and trendy anyway, which is not an issue, but it soon shoots up the list. It just can't be predicted. Otis was once a unique name but now it's popping up everywhere. Same with Cleo, Margot etc.